MBA Curriculum Changes at Wharton

Vice Dean of Wharton Business School, Howie Kaufold, spoke to The Wharton Journal about the new MBA curriculum. He noted that in reviewing their curriculum, the MBA Review Committee focused on four main principles: Rigorous, Innovative, Flexible, and Brand-Strengthening.

Regarding flexibility, some of the required courses will be offered in more than one format, and it’s up to the students to choose which format they prefer. They can also take more electives in their first year, if they’ve fulfilled the pre-requisites, and move some of the required courses to their second year. Plus, “students will be offered two pathways through required core areas, so will have more opportunity to tailor their course of study to their long- and short-term goals.”

A committee has been working on a new course auction system that should be first used in the fall of 2013. The goal of this system is to enhance the curriculum’s flexibility, as well as students’ chances to get the classes they really want.

There has also been a strong focus on community, which is bolstered by the strengthening of clusters, the largest building block in Wharton’s community, which consists of clusters, cohorts, and learning teams. In Kaufold’s words, “we’ve invested a lot of time and energy in thinking about our community next year, and we hope this new structure will further enhance the outstanding student community we already have at Wharton.”